1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to electrical reactors. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and system of a fabricated air core reactor for use in electrical power distribution systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Air core reactors or power reactors are known in the art. In an air core reactor, the magnetic flux travels in air, maintaining inductance with all currents. Air core reactors are used in electrical power distribution systems for a variety of purposes such as, for example, current limiting reactors, filter reactors, ripple reactors, and shunt reactors.
In power distribution systems having parallel power converters, it is desired that the current between the converters is balanced. It is desired that the currents on each line feeding the converters, including transient and fault currents, are controlled so that other components such as expensive solid state devices are not damaged. The solid state devices can include, but are not limited to, scr's.
Prior methods for controlling the balance of current between the power converters include using load sharing resistors or iron core reactors in each AC line feeding the converters. A disadvantage of the resistors is the IR across them, thereby resulting in an associated watts loss for the system. Thus, the efficiency of the power converter is reduced. The iron core reactors provide good load sharing for rated current but saturate with fault current, thus eliminating the balance affect. The iron core reactors can also add considerable weight to the product.
Another known approach for controlling the current between the parallel power converters includes using an active control system. Such methods involve monitoring each power converter and actively varying each converter's conduction timing. The complexity and costs of designing, installing, maintaining, and servicing such a computer controlled active controlled system can be quite high.
Prior air core reactors have been manufactured using a number of techniques. In general, prior air core reactor designs have included roll formed reactors and edge wound reactors
A disadvantage or shortcoming of the both the roll formed and the edge wound reactor designs is that they each require a high level of precision in the manufacturing process to maintain, for example, consistent and accurate spacing between adjacent windings and the sizing and shape of the conductor windings comprising the reactors. Additionally, practical size limitations of the conductors forming these types of reactors limit the ampacity rating of these reactors.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a fabricated air core reactor that overcomes one or more of the aforementioned deficiencies of prior air core reactors.